Reed Intermediate School PTA announced at a school assembly on Thursday, January 23 that they’re hosting a three-week Kindness Craze fundraiser that encourages students to spread kindness.

To be held January 23 through February 13, Kindness Craze has students collect donations from family and friends and agree to pay it forward by completing Acts of Kindness at school, at home, and in the community. These Acts of Kindness can range from holding a door for a stranger or giving somebody a compliment to making sweets for a loved one or helping someone load groceries into their car.

Either family or school staff will log the Act of Kindness depending on where it was completed, and a starfish with that student’s name will get added to the “I Made A Difference!!” beach poster on the wall outside the cafeteria.

The funds raised will support the school and students, as well as educational opportunities and student experiences. To Reed PTA Vice President Meagan Warnock, who spoke to students at the assembly, the fundraiser is an opportunity to teach the students about the importance of kindness.

“Kindness is so important, and it’s so easy to happen every day,” Warnock said. “Everywhere you go, no matter who you are, you can be kind.”

To drive home the lasting impact of kindness, Reed PTA members invited Executive Director of Kind Works Cody Foss as a special guest speaker for the assembly. Kind Works is a nonprofit organization based in Bethel that focuses on spreading positivity and inspiring people to act more kindly towards themselves and others.

It continues the mission of Ben’s Bells CT, after the nonprofit publicly announced last August that it would close its local studio and operations in the state within a few weeks. Based in Tucson, Ariz., Ben’s Bells spreads kindness through handmade ceramic pieces and education programs.

Foss said that Kind Works is new only in name, as it has the same staff and volunteers who wanted to keep the Ben’s Bell CT’s signature “Be Kind” message going. One way they do this, he said, is through community art. People in the community are invited to volunteer their time, shape an object out of clay, and put a tag on it.

According to Foss, the idea is that people will walk around with the object and, if they see someone perform a kind act, they’ll hand it to them.

That idea carried over into something Foss touched on during the assembly, where he told students about the ripple effect of kindness and how doing something kind for someone can inspire them to be kind to others. Foss showed everyone a 2022 clip from Good Morning America, where a man caught a home run ball hit by Yankees player Aaron Judge, selflessly gave it to a young boy wearing a Judge jersey, and gave him a big hug.

Foss noted the way everyone’s faces in the room lit up as they watched the clip, and clapped when they saw them share a hug.

“When you act kindly toward one person, it doesn’t just impact you and the other person, it impacts anyone that witnessed it,” Foss said.

This ripple effect of kindness has a scientific backing, as Foss said that studies have demonstrated that dopamine and serotonin levels are released by both the recipient, giver, and witness of acts of kindness. Spreading positivity and sharing these small moments of connection, he added, helps create a happier, stronger community.

“What you guys are learning and what we’re teaching, it’s all the same,” Foss said. “If we create this culture of kindness, then we’re all winning.”

It Takes A Village

Kindness Craze is the collective effort of Warnock and the other Reed PTA members, and is the culmination of several months of preparation and hard work.

There will be various School-Wide Acts of Kindness as part of the fundraiser. Students can donate a pre-loved book in the Reed Book Swap from January 27 to February 11. Students can even choose a book from the book swap on either February 12 or 13. All the remaining books will be donated to Broadway Elementary School in Danbury.

There’s also the School-Wide Food Drive from January 27 to February 13, where students are encouraged to donate any non-perishable food to support FAITH Food Pantry and the community. Any travel-sized hygiene products collected will be donated to Dorothy Day Homeless Shelter.

Students can also decorate cup sleeves for local businesses Cosmic Cafe + Smoothie Bar and Kash & Liv Coffee Creations to distribute to their customers and spread kindness in the community.

For every recorded Act of Kindness, students will earn a raffle ticket to enter for a chance to win a prize of their choice. These prizes range from toys to spa kits, and were all donated by local businesses to support Kindness Craze. Reed staff also have a chance to win their own prizes, separate from the student’s prize selection.

The fifth and sixth graders in the audience couldn’t help cheering for their favorite prizes, even ones that only staff could get, when they were shown off during the assembly. Reed PTA members also expressed their thanks towards the local business who contributed for their support and generosity.

Beyond that, there are several different individual, cluster, and school-wide fundraising rewards, such as extra recess, a pajama day, an ice cream party, and even no homework for a week.

Warnock said that Kindness Craze is similar to other donation events in town, such as the elementary schools’ walk-a-thons, and is an extension of the district’s motto, “Nicer in Newtown.”

“We want this to be a meaningful fundraiser for our students and show them the impact they can have by choosing to be kind every day,” Warnock continued.

While the Reed PTA’s goal is to raise funds to be able to provide more for students, Warnock said that it is equally important to them that every student at Reed is able to participate and win prizes, no matter a family’s ability to fundraise. After all, she added, kindness is free.

“I’m confident with their help, our students will be motivated to spread even more kindness, making an even bigger impact on those around them,” Warnock said.

For more information on Kind Works, visit kind-works.org.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.